By extending his contract by two years Monday for $48 million, the Lakers ensured he will remain the highest-paid player in the NBA and likely finish his career right where it began, in Los Angeles with the Lakers.

It was a remarkable gesture of faith, commitment and financial respect for one of the most decorated players in the history of a franchise that can stack its greats against any team in any sport.

It also assured Bryant they are sticking with him monetarily and emotionally no matter what level he eventually returns to on his surgically repaired left Achilles’ tendon.

“This is a very happy day for Lakers fans and for the Lakers organization,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “We’ve said all along that our priority and hope was to have Kobe finish his career as a Laker, and this should ensure that that happens.”

Now it’s Bryant’s turn to do right by the Lakers, whose commitment to their longtime star eliminates the possibility of signing two max free agents next summer and reduces their ability to sign one.

For Bryant, that means adding the role of recruiting director to his job title as the Lakers prepare for an offseason in which the top objective is adding an impact player through free agency and being a willing participant in the Lakers’ rebuilding phase, even if it means signing off on a trade of good friend Pau Gasol if the Lakers decide moving Gasol enhances their long-range plans.

The Lakers went all in on Bryant, even though it would have been understandable had they looked at his birth certificate and medical records and instead turned their attention to a full-fledged rebuilding phase with enough money to fund two All-Star additions.

But they stuck with Bryant.

Now he must be all in on the Lakers, and being open and enthusiastic to this next phase in franchise history.

It means assuring potential free-agent targets he is willing to appease, not control, and that the baton he holds is meant to be shared, not passed along when he finally retires.

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No worthwhile free agent is coming here without Bryant’s consent. This will be a co-partnership rather than the boss-internship relationship Bryant had with Dwight Howard.

The Lakers likely caught a break when all of Howard’s worst fears about playing with Bryant were realized. Howard isn’t the dominating big man around whom the Lakers historically have built, and it’s probably for the best he left as a free agent.

But the Bryant-Howard association is a dynamic by which potential targets might measure a possible move to the Lakers.

Howard was reluctant to come here to begin with and always viewed the domineering Bryant with a wary eye. He wasn’t keen on placating him.

Others likely might share those concerns.

That’s where Bryant’s commitment to the Lakers comes into play.

Unless the Lakers make a trade or extend Gasol, they will head into next summer armed with enough money to lure one of the big-name free agents to Los Angeles.

Until LeBron James officially announces he will remain long-term with the Miami Heat, he remains in play.

As does Carmelo Anthony, who can opt out of his deal with the New York Knicks and become a free agent.

It’s unlikely either will leave for the Lakers, but if the team has any chance of landing even one of them or the other big names available, Bryant must be on board in assurance and action.

Call it his way of saying thank you.

That means hitting the recruiting trail immediately and easing any worries the next Lakers star is coming here as a replacement to be groomed rather than as a peer.

This isn’t the 28-year-old Bryan, the one who rightfully stared down on everyone else from his mantle as the best player in the game.

It’s a recovering soon-to-be 36-year-old who, by all measures, resides somewhere among the top 15 players in the game but not in the top five.

That’s not disrespect. It’s the effects of age.

This isn’t a knock on Bryant. It’s conceding the influence of a rebuilt Achilles coupled with an unforgiving Father Time.

Bryant’s influence might be diminished on the court, but he still can be a major player in reshaping the Lakers’ future.

It’s his decision how he chooses to proceed.

The Lakers put a $48 million price tag on what Bryant has meant to them the past 17 years and what he still means moving forward.